To be honest, I’ve had it with bodybuilding; it just doesn’t fit in with the concept and image of slenderness. Bodybuilding is about creating mass and body strength which is along way from the flat-bellied, svelte body shapes we’re aiming for. In short, i don’t even want to talk about it.

….The girls from the previous class are finally leaving the room. I am the “experienced one”, heading to the other end of the classroom to pick up some weights, a step bench and a mat. I’ve decided to follow their routine and that’s when i have my first query: what weight should i put on the bar?! I looked around to see how many pounds the other participants were using. But the truth is, it varies a lot, as the particularity of this work-out is to set yourself a target for the 60 mins. of class, and therefore the weights are chosen according your capacity.

Now we’re all ready, the teacher asks us to load the bar up lightly for the warm up. I see 2 or 3 girls don’t even bother putting weights on, so i follow suit. The routine follows the rhythm of the music, we raise the bar to our shoulders, we rest it there, we put it behind our back and above the head…

PRE-WARM UP

Your muscles are warm, the music is quickening. Each exercise lasts one track (5 to 10 minutes) during which, your whole body is exercised. Abs for a flat stomach, press-ups with the hands placed on the step, squats with the barbell behind the head to exercise the thighs, lunges to strengthen the buttocks, our biceps are warmed up with the help of a weight in each hand, and planks to shape our silhouette. I discovered muscles that I didn’t even know existed!

VERDICT AND ADVICE

Personally, I loved it. The muscles are given a full work-out and you can feel its effects afterwards. But not enough to inflate them to the point where you look like a female bodybuilder (if that’s what you’re aiming for, then bodypump isn’t enough). All the same, i advise you to pay close attention to your progress. Know your limits, choose a suitable level of difficulty. We all know ourselves well enough to know how to avoid getting hurt. Getting into the right positions is also essential to avoid an unsuitable posture that can hurt yourself in that moment, or in the long term.

THIBAULT (YES, FINALLY A MAN) GIVES US HIS OPINION

“I was pleasantly surprised by this work-out. I don’t usually go to gyms or sports centres, I leave that to my partner while I play footy with my mates. But working on the cardio without weight training wasn’t enough, I was missing something. My wife told me about this work-out where other men take part. Feeling a little skeptical but curious, I decided to give it a go. My goal was to match the level of the guys who’d been doing this since the start of the year. Of course I’ve started by putting less kilos on my bar than them but i intend to keep it up to reach their level as soon as possible l! “